Common Themes In Gothic Literature

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Gothic literature is dark, morbid, insane, and at the same time enjoyable. Stories in gothic literature focus mainly on the disturbing lives of the main character but also includes ironic events or happenings. Sothern Gothic became popular during the 1940’s and today, still holds relevance with readers, teachers and literature classes. Most of the time Sothern Gothic literature would tie into some sort of social issue in the American South such as slavery. A few very recognizable authors in this genre are Flannery O 'Connor, William Faulkner, and Carson McCullers. The gothic south haunts the American imagination as fears and desires become projected onto a geographical region with a troubled and troubling past (Hendershot 152). With so many …show more content…
The main character may have some sort of affliction and do horrible things that makes the reader question their initial observations regarding this character. There is something about the South that makes it the perfect background for stories of specters, haunted mansions, and hidden secrets (Hendershot 152). The settings in gothic stories are usually decaying and ugly. Most of the time in gothic literature these places are castles or some other haunted structure. In southern gothic literature, the settings are normally a haunted house, mansion, plantation, or rural town. Language and bv word usage in a story plays a big part in the overall mood gives the reader important clues. Slang terms and unique sayings are common in the south and might be used in terms of one’s race or ethnicity. The southern United States was constructed upon slavery and racial discrimination so it is not uncommon for social issues such as slavery to be linked into the …show more content…
The towns people are always trying to figure out what the woman inside is doing. They even talk of her love life and family members, all the while not really knowing who she is at all. Months sometimes pass by without a single sighting of this woman but she is not dead yet because the delivery boy still brings her things from the market. Once a very wealthy lady belonging to a prestigious family, now alone with no close family or friends to be heard of. Faulkner does an incredible job describing the house in which Emily lived. It was a large rundown house with dust everywhere and a stench you could smell for miles around. At one point in the story men sneak on to the property to spread lime juice, in hopes of ridding their neighborhood of the putrid odor radiating from Emily’s

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